THE Trade and Industry Ministry has said 47 per cent of Trinidad and Tobago's exports will not be affected by reciprocal tariffs which US President Donald Trump announced on April 2.
The tariffs were imposed on 180 countries, including TT, with the reciprocal tariff rate being applied to countries ranging from ten to 50 per cent.
In a statement on April 3, the ministry said its preliminary analysis shows"that approximately 47 per cent of the total value TT’s exports to the US will not be affected."
The ministry said TT's exports to the US and the rest of Caricom's exports, with the exception of Guyana, have been given the minimum discounted reciprocal base rate of ten per cent.
"It should be noted that some of TT’s largest export commodities to the US (such as crude petroleum and natural gas) will not be subject to the reciprocal tariff. Items such as energy and other critical minerals that are not available in the US have been exempted as outlined in Annex II of the President’s Executive Actions."
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The US, the ministry continued, is TT's largest trading partner with the volume of trade between both countries being approximately $42 billion (US$6 billion).
"As a consequence, any changes in trade policy must be carefully analysed. It should be noted that while particular imports into the US from all countries have been made more expensive, TT’s exports have not been disproportionally disadvantaged as the lowest reciprocal tariff rate has been applied to this country."
The ministry said Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon met with US Embassy Chargé d'affaires Jenifer Neidhart de Ortiz at the embassy in Port of Spain to discuss this matter.
Gopee-Scoon was accompanied by a delegation which included the acting permanent secretaries of the Trade and Industry, Finance and Energy Ministries.
A team from the embassy joined Neidhart de Ortiz for the discussions.
The ministry said, "Both countries agreed to exchange trade information and engage in further dialogue to continuously review the tariff structure between both countries."
At a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall on April 2, Prime Minister Stuart Young said while it is too early to give a proper assessment of how the US ten per cent tariff will affect TT’s exports, there may be exemptions.
Young expected the matter would be raised by Caricom leaders when they meet on April 11.
He said while it is a country’s right to impose tariffs on goods it imports, the US is not the world’s only market.
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“The US is one market...fortunately, our energy products find homes in many parts of the world, not only in the US. Being solution-oriented, one of the things I would immediately start looking at is where are there other places that our products could be placed."
